Chick brooder



Dec. 15, 1931. E M 'R 1,837,065

CHICK BROODER Filed March 25, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 15, 1931. I Evp c 1,837,065

CHICK BROODER Filed March 25, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 dtbozmqa E. M.PIERCE CHICK BROODER Dec. 15, 1931.

Filed March 25, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 15, 1931 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE ESTA. M. PIERCE, 01 BOWLING GREEN, OHIO, ASSIGNORTO THE BOWLING GREEN POULTRY SUPPLY OOMTANY, OF BOWLING GREEN, OHIO, ACORPORATION OF OHIO CHICK BROODER Application filed March 25, 1929.Serial No. 349,590.

This invention relates to a brooder particularly adapted for housing aconsiderable number of chicks.

An object of the invention is to produce a a new and improved chickbrooder having features of, construction, arrangement and operationwhich enable warm fresh air to be continuously circulated through thechamber containing the chick-receiving compartments in such a mannerthat drafts on the chicks are prevented, the desideratum being thebrooding of sturdy and healthy chicks of good vitality.

' A further object is to secure an efiicient method of treating andcirculating air in a chick-brooding chamber by which the air ismaintained at the proper temperature, and the chamber is supplied withsufficient fresh air at all times so that the chicks breathe fresh wvitalizing air rather than foul unhealthy air.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

The invention is particularly well adapted for use in raising chicks ona large scale, and

. is preferably arranged so that the conditions are automaticallyregulated.

The specific construction of the invention in its preferred embodiment,together with its mode of operation and the advantages resultingtherefrom, will be more particularly described in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse section through a. brooder house builtin accordance with the invention, the section being taken approximatelyon the line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a sectional planview taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

ig. 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through one of theaisles;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the heating coil housings; and

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical section through the plenum chamber.

In accordance with the invention, the outside walls of the brooder housemay be of any suitable construction with a. door leading into the antechamber 10, in which is located a heating plant 11 having steam or hotwater pipes 12 leading to heating coils 13 located within housings 14preferably arranged along the side walls of the house and high enough toleave aisles 15 therebeneath. Arranged between the aisles 15 are banksor tiers of brooder trays 16 having walls of wire mesh. These traysare'suitably supported by racks 17 with transverse aisles 18 betweenthem and partially separated from the aisles 15 by doors 19.

' Suitable air inlet conduits 20 are provided at the sides of thebuilding and lead into the heating coil housings 14. Each of theseconduits 20 is provided at its intake end with louvers 21, and has adamper 22 to regulate the flow of air therethrough. Each housing 14 isprovided with outlets 23 directed downwardly and preferably locateddirectly beneath the conduits 20. Each outlet 23' is provided with anelectric fan 24 for drawing air .into the brooder house.

The fresh air, as it leaves the outlet 23, is directed downwardly, asindicated by the arrows a in Fig. 1, and asit reaches the floor, itis,of course, deflected inwardly beneath the banks of trays 16.Partitions 25 are provided between the tray chamber and the aisles -15to prevent any direct draft reaching the chicks, and to assist in thediffusion of air. The lower edges of these partitions, however, are farspaced from the floor to permit free circulation of the airtherebeneath. The air thus entering the brooder chamber is gently andsubstantially uniformly diflused throughout the chamber and toward theceiling 26. Above the ceiling 26 there is an exhaust chamber 27, andformed in the ceiling 26 are openings 28, which are regulated by dampersdrawn into the chamber, a. perforated pipe 30 .is connected to one ofthe coils.13 to allow steam to enter the housing 14 for moistening theair drawn therein.

therethrough. In order to humidify the air In order to secure suflicientventilation un-. der all conditions, certain of the inlet conduitsleading to the box 14, as indicated at 35, are without dampers. Theseinlets are always open and located at some distance from the outlets 23,so that the air coming through the conduits 35 will have sufficientcontact with the heating coils 13 to become well heated. If necessary,baffles may be provided to insure intimate contact of the air with thepipes. Openings 36 without dampers are provided in the ceiling 26, andthe damper 34 is so constructed that it will never entirely close theconduit 32. Thus provision is made for ventilation, even where thedampers 22 and 29 are in fully closed position.

It will be understoodthat the dampers will all be closed in the coldestweather, andupon a rise in temperature they will be opened to allow moreoutside air to enter the brooder house. Moreover, the air enteringthrough the conduits 20 passes directly through the housings 14, and is,therefore, not heated as much as that which enters through the inlets35.

It is desirable to regulate the temperature automatically within thebrooder house, and for this purpose a thermostat 38 may be provided. Asshown in Fig. 2, this thermostat is connected by wires 39 to a torquemotor 40. The shaft of this motor has crank arms 14, which are adaptedto move through arcs of approximately one hundred and eighty degreeswhen the motor is energized. The thermostat 38 is arran ed so as toenergize the motor whenever t e temperature falls below a predeterminedpoint. The crank arms 41 are connected by cables 42, or other suitablemeans, to the respective dampers 22, 29 and 34, so as to close them whenthe m tor is energized. One cable may also be connected to a lever arm43 for controlling 'a valve in the pipe line 12.

In the operation of my invention, since the damper 34 never completelycloses the conduit 32, and since the inlets 35 and openings 36 and 31are always clear, there is at all times an eflicient ventilation of thebrooder section and a continuous supply of fresh air thereto. Thepartitions 25 prevent any possibility of a. direct draft upon the chicksand cause the air currents to flow underneath the brooder trays towardthe center line of the brooder section. These currents the trays isrecirculatedywhile the remaining ten percent passes into the exhaustchamber, and thence through the condu t 32 to the outside of thebuilding. This continued circulation of the 'air through the housings 14past the heating coils 13 utilizes the heat from the coils to thefullest extent possible, and maintains a substantially uniformtemperature throughout the brooder section. The thermostat 38 may beadjusted to close the circuit through the motor 40, and thereby to openall of the dampers, at the same time shutting off the heat by means ofthe lever 43, whenever the temperature rises above a predeterminedpoint. When the temperature falls, the thermostat will open the circuitand permit the dampers to close by gravity.

An important feature of the invention consists in the method of treatingand circulating the air for the inside of the chick-brooding chamber. Itwill particularly be observed that approximately ten percent of freshair is at all times drawn into the chamber, and the temperature of thisair is modified during its passage to the chamber. Before the air thustreated is admitted to the chamber, it is thorou hly mixed with airwhich has previously een circulated, preferably, about ninety per centof recirculated air is used. Obviously, this facilitates in securinguniform air temperature within' the chamber.

The air thus mixed is not directly forced to the chick-compartments,because the partitions eliminate liability of drafts on the chicks, andcause the air current, which is directed downwardly, to become convertedinto a gentle diffusion of air beneath the partitions, and thengradually flowing upwardly through the compartments, driving off thefoul air and replacing the same with fresh vitalizing air. The permanentopenings 36 arranged directly above the banks or tiers of trays providea .fixed air outlet through which approximately ten percent of air isexhausted, the remaining air returnin to the fans for recirculation. Ithas een found empirically that this method is most satisfactory inbrooding healthy chicks.

The partitions 25 are of considerable importance in the elimination ofdrafts on the chicks, and securing the'desired movement of air through,the chick-compartments. They serve not only to prevent direct draftsfrom the fans, but also eliminate the liability of cold outside airpassing through the outer walls of the chamber from reaching the chicks.It is apparent that the partitions also facilitate the scheme of airrecirculation hereinbefore described.

It is evident that numerous changes in construction and arrangement maybe effected withoutdeparting from the invention, and

sults, and recirculation of air may be accomplished in a differentmanner, such as through the plenum chamber, but I consider the formshown and described as the preferred form. Numerous other modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention,especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a brooder, a room having a series of brooder trays therein, witha, partition at each side thereof and spaced laterally thereupon, meansinside said room for creating currents of fresh air downwardly outsideof the partitions and inwardly beneath the same to cause a gentlediffusion of air upwardly through and around the trays, and meansincluding a constantly open outlet for conducting air from the spaceabove the trays to the outside atmosphere.

2. In abrooder, a room having a series of brooder trays therein, with apartition at each side thereof, mechanical means inside said room forcreating current-s of fresh air downwardly outside of the partitions andinwardly beneath the same to cause a gentle diffusion of air upwardlythrough the trays, an exhaust chamber above the ceiling of the brooderroom, said ceiling having one or more openings therein, and means forconducting air from the exhaust chamber to the outside atmosphere.

3. In a brooder, a room having a series of brooder trays therein, with apartition at each side thereof, heating devices, means in side said roomfor creating currents of fresh air past the heating devices anddirecting the same downwardly outside of the partitions to cause agentle diffusion of air upwardly through the trays, and means fordischarging a portion only of the air into the atmosphere after itpasses the trays and for causing the remaining portion to bere-circulated past the heating devices.

4. In a brooder, a series of brooder trays, an exhaust chamber locatedabove the tray space and having restricted communication therewith, aheating device located at each side of the trays, a partition disposedin a plane between the trays and each heating device, means within saidspace for creating a flow of air in a circuit past each heating deviceand past the trays,.said circuits passing respectively beneath thepartitions and above the same, means for continuously introducing aproportlon of, fresh air from outregion of the heating device, and meansfor continuously discharging a like proportion of the circulating airfrom the tray space to the exhaust chamber and thence to the outsideatmosphere.

5. In a brooder, a series of brooder trays, a

- ceiling above the same, an exhaust chamber above the ceiling, aheating device at opposite.

sides of the trays and immediately beneath the ceiling, a partitiondisposed in a plane between said trays and each heating device, ahousing about each'heating device having a downwardly directed outletand inlet adjacent the ceiling on the side toward the trays, means forforcibly creating a flow of air past each heating device through therespective outlet, beneath the adjacent artition, thence upwardly by agentle di usion past the trays and thence through the respective inletback to the heating device, each housing having an auxiliary inlet fromoutside the building to' permit the admixture of fresh air, an outletfrom the tray space to the exhaust chamber, and means for forciblydischarging air from the exhaust chamber to the outside atmosphere.

6. In a brooder havinga closed chamber, a partition disposed on oppositesides of the chamber spaced from the floor thereof, a housing spacedlaterally from each partition, a temperature modulating device in eachhousing for the air passing therethrough, means providing an air inletpassage from the outside atmosphere to each housing, each housing havingan air-outlet to the chamber adjacent to the respective inlet passage, afan in the region of each inlet passage for drawing air into thechamber, a damper controlling each inlet passage, means operable whenthe temperature within the chamber exceeds a predetermined degree foropening said damper, whereby fresh outside air may be drawn freely intothe chamber past said temperature modulating device without materiallychanging the temperature thereof, means providing an additional airinlet to each housing spaced laterally from said first inlet thereof andthrough which air may be drawn when the respective damper is closed, andmeans for dischar' ing air from said chamber.

7. "In a enclosed brooding chamber, means for forcibly supplying freshair to opposite sides of said brooding chamber, air modulating means A ybrooder chamber in communication therewith side the" building to the aircircuit in the through a plurality of restricted openings, said latterchamber having an opening leading to atmosphere, and an exhaust fanlocated in said opening.

8. In a brooder, a room having a series of brooder trays therein, apartition at each side thereof and spaced laterally therefrom, a fan insaid room for drawing fresh air into said room and for forcing currentsof air down- IOOdGI, a structure having an wardly outside of thepartition and inward- 1y beneath the same to cause a gentle diffusion ofair upwardly and around the trays, an exhaust chamber above the ceilingof the brooder room, said ceiling having one or more openings, and a fanfor drawing air from the exhaust chamber in definite proportion to theamount of fresh air drawn into said room.

9. In a brooder, a series of brooder trays, a ceiling above the same, anexhaust chamber above the ceiling, a temperature-modulating device atopposite sides of the trays and immediately beneath the ceiling, apartition disposed in a'plane between said trays and each modulatingdevice, a housing about each modulating device having a downwardlydirected outlet, a fan for creating a flow of air past each modulatingdevice through the respective outlet, beneath the adjacent partition,and thence upwardly by gentle difi'usion past the trays, each housinghaving an auxiliary inlet from outside the building to permit theintroduction of fresh air, an outlet from the tray space to the exhaustchamber, and a fan for discharging air from the exhaust chamber to theoutside atmosphere.

10. In a brooder having a closed chamber, brooder trays in said chamber,an exhaust chamber above said closed chamber and in restrictedcommunication therewith, a housing disposed in the upper portion of saidclosed chamber and at opposite sides of said trays, each housingcomprising means providing an air inlet passage from the outside, an airoutlet to said chamber communicating directly with said inlet passage, anormally closed damper controllng said inlet passage, a second inletpassage to the housing from the outside spaced laterally from the airoutlet passage and open at all times, means adjacent said first inletfor forcing air from the second inlet, a temperature-modulating devicein the housing between said air-forcing means and said second inlet,temperaturecontrolled means for opening the damper in the housing,partition means between each housing and brooder trays for causing airto flow downwardly toward the floor of the chamber and thence upwardlypast said trays and into said exhaust chamber, and means for forciblydischarging air from said exhaust viding an air inlet for supplyingfresh air to said fan, and a second fan for discharging air from thetray" space to the exhaust chamber and thence to the outside.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to thisspecification.

' ESTA M. PIERCE.

